Croatia advice

[lu9months]

hi we want a week in august in Croatia - the kids are 17,14 and 9. flying from London. any ideas of either companies we can book through (ideally hotel B and B with pool) or places to stay near beach and with plenty of local cafes/restaurants within short distance?

Check out the Pelješac penninsular - we stayed in a small town called Viganj last year for a week. The coastline is beautiful & not as busy as the Dubrovnik area. There are several resorts along the stretch of coast opposite to Korcula island that have largish hotels, or plenty of apartments/ villas to rent. Lovely beaches, clear water & nice restaurants on the beach.

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We went with Jet2 holidays to Cavtat near Dubrovnik (could get there by water taxi or bus). Stayed in Hotel Croatia on B&B basis with 19 yr old and 15 year old. There is a gym and other sports, snorkelling from hotel beach/rocks. We went scuba diving one day too. 10 minute stroll into tow for food, ice creams bars etc. Lively but not heaving. Loved it.

A cheap option would be to fly into Split (Croatia's 2nd city), rent an apartment (you'll find plenty on Air BnB or booking.com) and stay there for the week. Split is lovely (take a google!) and on the coast with plenty of beaches and little coves which were very popular with the local teenagers and a walk from town. Food didn't cost the earth and there are plenty of pretty, old squares with restaurants and bars to spend an evening. It's also a ferry port so you could do day trips to Hvar and Bol islands. Game of Thrones is partially filmed nearby and there are GOT tours if any of the kids/you are into that!

@ShalomJackie - thinking about next summer did you have a room large enough for you all or did you need to book 2 rooms? Where there many teenagers especially English speaking teenagers at the hotel. I have fancied Croatia for ages but all the hotels I have looked at I required to bedrooms which really cranks the cost up. I have a boy and a girl and they get on each other’s nerves if no one else to hang around with. I would try a DIY holiday but it’s no holiday for us if they are fighting and arguing and or refuse to leave the room if no one to hang out with.

Following for advice. No idea where to go this year.

We had 2 rooms next to each other. Yes there were other teens around to join in water polo, go to the outdoor nightclub etc with and a gym that they used each evening before changing for dinner.

That hotel sounds ideal it just wallops the cost up having two rooms our two are a boy and a girl so don’t think that would work.

We had a fabulous holiday in Baska Voda on the Makarska Riviera.

Where did you stay and was it good for teens LoniceraJaponica? in terms of activities and other teens on site? Mine would be 15 and 16 next year? I really fancied Croatia but struggled to decide/narrow down an area, finding a hotel to accommodate the four of us in ithour havibg to pay for two rooms with reasonable prices. Then a travel agent said Croatia was a place more geared to couples than families which I am sure it must cater for both.

We stayed here. We had a 2 bedroom apartment, and it suited us beautifully. DD was 9 when we went so I couldn't comment on whether a teenager would like it.

Also we tend not to do "activities" on holiday anyway, and just do our own thing. You can hire pedal boats, go on boat trips to Brac and Makarska, there is loads of lovely coastal walking, and the scenery is beautiful. We loved the place.

See what flights you can get cheaply then search for apartments in complex with shared pools. DIY so much cheaper than a package. Self catering cheaper still. Its not expensive to eat out. I like Rovinj, Novigrad, porec, vrsar, in Istria; can recommend Trogir or Omis (fly to Split); Korcula looks lovely.

This year am staying about 50mins away from Dubrovnik.

We went to Srebreno, near Cavtat and we stayed in a self catering 2 bedroom villa apartment next to the 4 star Sheraton Hotel and had use of all their facilities, lovely hotel pool with towels, pool bar, waiting staff etc, lovely.
2 mins from beach and water taxis to Dubrovnik, islands etc.
Went with jet2
Great holiday with teen ds who had his own room
Great WiFi, apartment had balcony, spotless, couldn't recommend enough.
Also walks along the beach to bombed out hotels from the war there, very spooky but interesting history of the place.

The hotel had tennis courts too

<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.jet2holidays.com/destinations/croatia/dubrovnik-area-of/srebreno&ved=2ahUKEwi4t-af5JvgAhUhUhUIHbBTCdcQFjABegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw0q21L7edbL0TY6GBXpqO5b&cshid=1549067038190" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=www.jet2holidays.com/destinations/croatia/dubrovnik-area-of/srebreno&ved=2ahUKEwi4t-af5JvgAhUhUhUIHbBTCdcQFjABegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw0q21L7edbL0TY6GBXpqO5b&cshid=1549067038190

2 bed apartment sleeps 5 op

Following

I agree with @SJane45S - Split is a gorgeous city and would make a great base giving you the best of both the city amenities and access to the islands/coastline with easy day trips to various islands or along the coast (Trogir, Makarska etc) plus inland (Krka).

I second Shalom Jackie (fab name) - stayed at Hotel Croatia with children aged between about 8 and 18. Lovely little restaurants in Cavtat.Obviously, it was a bonus that they upgraded us to the Presidential suite!!! All children really enjoyed that holiday. I just missed the sand. Maybe an island?

Other plus - waiting for ferry back to Cavtat from Dubrovnic we found a carrier bag of ice cold beers the family catching the ferry before us left by accident!

I've done Rovinj; lovely - fly to Pula and take a bus. Beautiful architecture and lovely old town. Pula is a stinking pit but has an interesting Amphitheatre.

Also did Split last year, went to a place called Stobrec, on the coast about 7 km from Split. Coastline is all a bit rocky but beautiful. From Split we took daytrips to the Islands by ferry. Very interesting.

Beware tho that everyone smokes, even the young teenagers, even in restaurants. It's vile.

We stayed AirBnB on both occasions. Cheap and clean. Food is cheap-ish. Drink cheap - esp Vodka! Transport is basic and I think they could do with upgrading their buses - the infrastructure is not keeping up with demand.

And it gets Hot!

If you think smoking is an issue in Croatia (can't say I noticed anyone doing it and I think technically it's banned although this may not be enforced) it's far worse in Bosnia where there is no ban. In one place I went to not only were customers smoking, but so we're the cooks and the waiting staff - while they were working! 😮

I found it horrendous, Buttermillk. As I said, even young teens (so I reckon 14yo) were smoking. I suppose we were 'technically' outside, on a terrace (enclosed sides and roof tho) and even though we tried to sit at a table away from smokers, there was always someone who would light up in between courses. Or on the bus. Or the beach...

Terrible coughing, too < boak
Bosnia sounds even worse! It used to be like that in UK too; how did we live like that?